Two of Manchester United’s best young talents could be available for sale if the right offer were to arrive, according to a bombshell report from a reliable journalist.
With United looking to radically revitalise their squad once the season ends, the Old Trafford club are widely believed to be willing to part ways with almost all of their current players.
However, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have always been amongst those considered untouchable regardless of interest from other clubs.
But according to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein, speaking on NBC Sports via TBR Football, the promising duo may not have such certain futures after all.
Ornstein’s huge claim came after discussion over a potential departure for Marcus Rashford, an academy graduate like Mainoo and Garnacho, who would net United pure profit.
He said: “If a departure is going to happen [for Rashford], a sale in particular, maybe it’s more likely in the summer, but it would represent pure profit, something we hear about so much, because he was an academy graduate.
“In the same way that Kobbie Mainoo might be, he’s out of contract in 2027 – no news on a new deal. Alejandro Garnacho too, I don’t think anybody in that bracket is off the table.”
While Rashford’s race at Old Trafford appears to be run, both Mainoo and Garnacho are at the start of what fans hope to be illustrious careers in red.
United’s squad is undoubtedly bloated with below-par players, but neither the English teenager nor the Argentinian winger fit in that bracket and both represent true class and quality.
Their sale would doubtless cause chaos and consternation regardless of the money made and would be a huge shock from INEOS, who seem to be prioritising quality young players in a bid for long-term success.
Mainoo and Garnacho are not the only highly-prized youngsters in the squad, but Ornstein claims that others are safe, naming Leny Yoro and Amad Diallo as “untouchable”.
The journalist added: “In terms of [Ruben] Amorim, Manchester United’s hierarchy, they fully support him, they back him to lead this transformation of the club.”
The Portuguese has tinkered extensively with his teams to see which players work well in his uncompromising 3-4-3 system, and his experiments have seen both Mainoo and Garnacho benched at times.
Following United’s spirited 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday, Mainoo seems to have nailed down the centre-midfield spot alongside Manuel Ugarte and would be a huge loss should he depart.
Garnacho’s position is a little less certain, last making the starting lineup in United’s 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest in early December.
But he came off the bench to create Amad’s equaliser at Anfield yesterday, and at just 20 years old still has a lot of potential to realise.
Despite his inconsistency, the Argentinian has at times carried United and should be given time to get back to his best at Old Trafford.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
